Ever since learning the cooking method for chicken breasts that I shared in a previous post (link here), I’ve been looking for recipes that use this as a base. I love it when I can find a dish – like this one – where the rest of the recipe can be prepped in the 20 or so minutes during which I’m waiting for the chicken to cook on the stovetop. This is my favorite time of year for cooking, when things finally start to look fresh again in the grocery store. Perhaps not yet locally grown (we have to wait a while for that in Minnesota), but at least the basil comes in a small fresh grouping versus wilted and cramped in one of those sad little plastic containers. The recipe for this easy and healthy dish is included below.

Anthropologie plate
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For those of you who asked for the chicken salad recipe from last week’s Entertaining post, here it is! Easy and delicious. Plus, the flavors blend really nicely over a day or two, so this is a great option if you need to make it ahead of time – which seems to be increasingly important to me when planning to host friends or to bring a dish to an event. The salad is also great as a leftover for the following day’s lunch.

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Now that it’s spring, my attention turns to casual, easy entertaining. While searching for the tea towel that I framed for last week’s DIY/Décor post, I couldn’t help but be tempted to update my tired towels in my kitchen. The colors are so fresh and fun – why does it seem to be more pleasant to do kitchen tasks with good looking items? To get more than one use from these fun towels, I decided to use them as placemats and napkins for a Mother’s Day picnic. Note that I’m not talking about the meal on the actual holiday – I’m referring to something you host for your girlfriends on a separate day to give them something we all want and appreciate – some time together without the duties of motherhood underfoot (whether that’s laundry, toys or the children themselves). To make it special, yet casual, I put dish towels, fruit jars and fruit jar rings to work. Fold the dish towels in a pleated fan fashion (just like you did in grade school) and pull through a small fruit jar ring ,available at most grocery markets.  For a cute serving idea, pack a yummy chicken salad in wide mouth pint size fruit jars and cover each with a lid and ring to make ahead for easy serving. Use coordinating towels folded in half for place mats. Invite your friends to take the placemats home as a small gift. Serve with croissants and juicy red grapes. To play off a casual picnic theme, I used a galvanized tiered serving piece to house the croissants, napkins, and utensils (also in a fruit jar) with a few fresh flowers. It also served as a lovely centerpiece.

Cute dishtowels from Anthrpologie in packs of three here, here and here. .
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